WASHINGTON, June 1: The US military admitted on Friday night that three armed Afghans killed by US-led troops in eastern Afghanistan were not Al Qaeda or Taliban fighters as expected, but insisted the soldiers were justified in shooting.

The US-led troops acted in response to threatening behaviour by armed Afghans at the compound in Khomar Kalay, a village near the eastern town of Gardez, said Lieutenant Frank Merriman, a spokesman for the US Central Command.

Merriman was unable to say who the dead men were or who controlled the compound, but said suspicions that it was being used by Taliban or Al Qaeda proved to be unfounded. He said the incident was under review.

US officials said the nighttime firefight took place when a combined force of more than 100 US special forces and Afghan troops approaching the compound noticed several armed men take up fighting positions inside the compound, and saw another group of 10 to 12 armed men sprinting toward them in what appeared to be a flanking manoeuvre.

When one of the special forces soldiers saw a man point a rocket-propelled grenade at his team, the team leader determined there was hostile intent and ordered his men to fire, Merriman said.

“The firefight, which lasted just a few moments, resulted in the deaths of three and the wounding of two,” he said.

The 17 other men in the compound immediately surrendered and laid down their weapons, and were determined to be not Al Qaeda or Taliban, Merriman said. Gardez, capital of Paktia province, has been the scene of fighting between the forces of rebel warlord Padsha Khan and the governor appointed by the interim Afghan government.

The incident once again raised questions about the reliability of US intelligence in an environment rife with rivalries among the country’s many armed groups.—AFP